HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Candidates Kimberly Battle and Walker McGinnis are seeking to replace Topper Birney as the District 4 representative on the Huntsville school board.

The candidates sat down with AL.com last week to discuss the race leading up to the Aug. 26 municipal election and the issues affecting their district. District 4 currently includes McDonnell, Morris and Ridgecrest elementary schools, Westlawn Middle School, Whitesburg P-8 School, Huntsville High and the Huntsville Center for Technology.

Battle and McGinnis were each asked to answer the same five questions, though they were interviewed separately due to a scheduling conflict. They were also each given two minutes with a video camera with which to speak directly to voters. Those videos can be viewed below.

The candidates' responses to the five questions from AL.com have been edited and condensed. Anything in quotation marks is a direct quote.

Give us a snapshot of your background.

Battle: "I am a tutor and mentor in Huntsville City Schools; I've been mentoring since 2006. Academically, I'm an engineer by degree. I have two masters, one in management and one in engineering. I think those are very applicable to what's happening in education right now, given that we have a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) focus. I think I can bring that background to the school system.

"Additionally, I have been supportive of the superintendent by trying to be aware and informed of what's going on in the school system and being an advocate for communicating to the people around me what's going on and the good news that's happening in the schools. I attend school meetings regularly; I've been doing that since 2011.

"I think what motivated me to jump in in 2011 to learn the governance aspect is when Dr. (Ed) Richardson was the superintendent and there were the town hall meetings to recommend consolidating certain schools. I remember the demographer's report, and the engineer in me just didn't like the way the data didn't equal the results. At that point I knew it was my responsibility to become engaged and to figure out and understand what was happening in our school system for ourselves.

"I'm a neighborhood watch captain over in the McDonnell Elementary community. Triana Village is the neighborhood. To me, one of the motivators to get me to run for office is that I saw what was happening in the school system and I could see the impact it would have on my community in particular. The reality is, the majority of the student assignment changes will happen to west Huntsville. I think as a resident of that community, I have more of an investment by virtue of my neighborhood in the results and how this all transpires."

McGinnis: "I came to Huntsville in 1958 with my parents. I went to Morris Elementary, Westlawn (Middle). From there I went to Columbia Military Academy and from there, I went to Southwestern (Presbyterian University) in Memphis, which is now called Rhodes College.

"When I graduated, I came back to teach here in Huntsville. I started in 1970 and ended in 2006. I was a teacher, a coach, a principal at several schools across the city in the course of those 36 years. I also did many things for the school system above those things. I was a recruiter; they'd send me down to Alabama, to Auburn, to Birmingham Southern, to Florence to recruit teachers for the system. I also wrote the Section 504 manual for the school system, which is akin to special education. I spoke for seven years, nationally, on special ed issues.

"During that time, I was also a commander in the (Army) Reserves. The armory on Patton Road, I was its first commander. I was also involved in insurance and, after I retired, real estate. I've been involved in community and civic associations ever since I retired. I was the education chair for the South Huntsville Civic Association, I coordinate with civic associations for Huntsville South and I'm also on the big civic association for the city. I represent South Huntsville in that."

What do you see as the most pressing issue facing your particular district?

Battle: "The most pressing issue regarding the schools is the outcome of the student assignment plan. That area is going to be impacted heavily, whatever result comes out, by virtue of the plan to close Butler High School. The majority of the students, unless they've been transferred to another school, go to Butler High School. When that gets taken out, they're going to be transferred all over the district to other schools, so that's going to be the biggest issue from a student assignment perspective.

"Other than that, I think we have an issue of incorporating a little bit of balance in our school system, meaning that we have a superintendent who has a lot of vision, has direction, has goals, and is moving out. I think we need to elect leaders to the board who are going to support balancing that out, being a little objective and not holding it back or stifling the process, but just ensuring that every decision made in the next couple of months as a result of the student assignment plan is for the benefit of the community.

"The transition as a result of that plan is going to be the most pressing issue over the next couple of months."

McGinnis: "The outcome of unitary status, what transpires with the DOJ; we have two schools that could be threatened to be closed, and that's going to have a severe impact on that district. We don't know, obviously, what's going to happen, but we need to be aware and come up with some contingent plans either way it goes. I don't believe in just sitting back and waiting for something to happen; if you can prepare, then I think you need to do that, and that's what I've been doing. As much as possible."

What about districtwide? Now that the school system has come back from the brink of financial disaster, what is the most pressing education need across the city?

Battle: "The most pressing education need probably comes from continuing to expand AP courses in all schools. In addition to that, we still have to focus on the teachers, how they are professionally developed and how they are trained to do the knowledge transfer between the teacher and the students. We can get caught in the standards, we can get caught in what curriculum is offered at what schools, but what is most important is that our teachers are prepared to support and handle that knowledge transfer on any given subject.

"Setting up our schools so they are centers of excellence at every school. One of the things that could have helped Butler is if a good magnet program had been put in at that school. The same thing is going to have to happen at a couple of other schools, Jemison being the newest school, to create diversity, to create an incentive for parents and students to come from different areas of the school system."

McGinnis: "It's hard to really say what's the most important. I think that we need to focus on making each school unique unto itself. A magnet push, make sure we have outstanding magnet programs in every one of our schools to draw people and to keep people at those schools. I think that's a biggie.

"Dr. Wardynski's doing that. He's got STEM going; he's got all sorts of things going for the new Whitesburg school and Jemison. He's very attuned to that, and I like that and support that. We need to have centers of excellence in all schools.

"The big thing is to have local schools, kids going to local schools. And that's what we need to be pushing towards. But we can't do that until we get to unitary status."

Let's address the elephant in the room. How do you think the administration has handled desegregation in the schools, and what do you think needs to be the next move?

Battle: "Dr. Wardynski was given a goal. That goal was relative to achieving unitary status. Military leader that he is, he came up with objectives and a way to accomplish that, and I think he's done a great job of trying to make that happen. The unfortunate part is, I work in the Army so I know military leaders. I know they set a vision and they expect everyone to get around it and make it happen.

"But what you're dealing with is a very public process, and you have to allow the public an opportunity to put feedback and input into that process. We're essentially developing a long-range plan for Huntsville City Schools without any public input, without any say from the members of the community who are impacted by this.

"I do think we should still strive to make sure every school in Huntsville is equal; we should still strive to achieve unitary status. But what's the point in unitary status if you still have communities that feel disenfranchised?"

McGinnis: "I think he inherited a situation that should have been corrected years ago. And I credit Dr. Wardynski with having the gumption to deal with it, finally. I've been in the system 36 years and I've watched one administration after another dodge desegregation issues. And all it did was make the wound get deeper and deeper and deeper.

"Finally, we're at this point where...Dr. Wardynski came and got the financial boat straight, and now he's working on the next big problem, the desegregation order, to get out from under that so we can get unitary status and so we can have more say in where we need to go.

"But the answer is not busing, the answer is local schools."

What unique talent do you bring to the table that makes you the right candidate for the job?

Battle: "I am a leader. I've led at work; I've been president of nonprofits; I've been engaged in the school system. Those are all things you would expect from a board member. What makes me unique? I have a lot of energy; I have a lot of passion. I'm ready to engage and really get out there and be involved with the community and help move Huntsville's schools forward.

"My engineering background does help support the direction of the school system being that we're adding things like cyber security and enhancing our engineering program.

"I just think what makes me unique is, I'm energetic, I'm younger than the other candidates. That's not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but I think it brings a fresh perspective to the school board instead of the usual perspectives."

McGinnis: "I think what I can bring to the table is a lot. I've over the years worked with the principal players I'd be dealing with on the board. I have excellent relationships with all parties; I think I've earned that over the years. Those relationships...are invaluable when you're trying to get things done.

"I bring experience. I know what it's like to run a school, and I know what it's like to teach a class. Not just be a tutor once a week to a couple of students; I'm talking about being responsible for hundreds of students and their welfare and their academic progress.

"I think I bring innovation. With me, if something doesn't work, I don't give up. I just go a different angle until I get what we feel we need. I rely heavily on other people's opinions; I learned a long time ago that I don't have a lock on total intelligence. There are things I pick up every time I talk to someone. I think you need to be confident to do that, and I do have that confidence.